SCI3314 Current Issues: Media Portrayal of Intense Weather Events

This portfolio critically examines the media's portrayal of intense weather events and their impacts on ecosystems and human populations, focusing on the route from primary scientific literature to public dissemination. It begins with an overview of primary research papers, highlighting the causes and effects of extreme weather events, including both anthropogenic and natural factors. The analysis covers various media reports, assessing their accuracy and potential sensationalism, and considers the role of human activities like industrialization and population growth in exacerbating climatic changes. The portfolio also explores the impact of these changes on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human vulnerability, referencing specific news stories and scientific findings. The work concludes by reflecting on the challenges of linking specific weather events to global warming and the importance of understanding the complex interplay between climate, ecosystems, and human society.

Intense Weather Events – Ecosystem and/or Human Impacts1
Intense Weather Events – Ecosystem and/or Human Impacts
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Intense Weather Events – Ecosystem and/or Human Impacts
An Introductory Overview of Intense Weather Events
This paper provides the analysis and deep examination of the role of media in portraying
the intense weather events including ecosystem and human impacts on the conditions. Various
scientific reports and news have regarding the intense weather events happening on a global
scale have been published. These publications have involved different scholars, media houses,
and research organizations such as higher institutions of learning (Barry &Jonathan, 2015;
British Ecological Society,2017). Climate is considered to be the most significant in causing
influence on the ecosystem globally. Changes that occur in climatic conditions pose various
impacts on the ecosystem and human beings. For instance, the occurrence of global warming
may end up forcing nonresistant species to migrate to higher elevations or higher latitudes where
the temperatures are conducive and support their survival there. Continuous climatic changes
have brought about instability in the sea levels. This has resulted intovarious negative impacts
such as the intrusion of the salty water into the fresh water system causing the death or relocating
of some species. Various intense weather events or climatically changes not only affect species
and ecosystems but also affect other human features such as development. Various media houses
such as BBC have been running several news stories regarding the impact of the continued
changes in the weather conditions have on human beings. For instance, the occurrence of intense
weather events through climatic changes may result in negative consequences posed to the weak
coast areas by the land development.
Different media journals and news have pointed at the major role played by humans in
causing these changes. Continuous developments globally through industrialization and

Intense Weather Events – Ecosystem and/or Human Impacts3
infrastructural development coupled with daily population expulsion have resulted in extreme
climatic and weather events such as droughts, and heavy rainfall. These negative climatical
consequences pose a major risk or threat to human beings in the society (Science Daily, 2014).
This has been experienced through the increasing impacts on communities, infrastructure, and
ecosystems across the world. Currently, the global news involves several reports on the extreme
climatic or weather events that are occurring on a regular basis. Therefore, all these occurrences
have increased the number of questions from both the public and various media houses but the
expected climatic changes and their impacts on the ecosystem or human beings (British
Ecological Society, 2017). Continuous climatic changes pose threatening effects on the living
world such as changes in the ecosystem, people, ecosystem services and biodiversity. This will
reduce of the ray of benefits which are provided by the ecosystems and biodiversity to the human
beings such as drinking water, fisheries, fertile soils to support the growth of crops, cultural
values, climate regulation among others.
Though ecosystem services play a great role in providing jobs, health, economic growth,
and human wellbeing. Thecontinuous climatic or weather changes are elusive since they are
mostly affected by many external factors. The perturbations on the ecosystems that are as a result
of the changes in the climatic or weather conditions have a direct impact on human beings such
as reduced water quality and supply, loss of landscapes and iconic species, destructed rhythms of
nature among others (Tollefson, 2015). In this case, quantifying the human vulnerability that is
as a result of the shifts in the ecosystem services and processes is difficult. For instance, though
it is possible to predict the changes in the water flow, it's more difficult to tell which cities,
habitats, and farms that will be affected by the changes. According to BBC News, (2015), it
highlights the extreme weather events occurring in South Korea. In this case, the news indicates

Intense Weather Events – Ecosystem and/or Human Impacts4
that people can become less vulnerable than in the past through adoption of the extreme weather
conditions. This is due to developments and advances in air conditioning, thermal insulations in
their houses and medical technology. BBC News, (2017) describes the continues climatic
changes over geological time. The news gives the estimation of the average global temperatures
at around 15C in 2017 through various geological reports indicate an increase in the temperatures
than the expected.
Investigations on the causes of the Intense Weather Events
Several research studies have been conducted by various individuals, media organizations
and research institutions regarding the causes of the extreme weather events globally. The
continuous climatic changes have increased on their effects on the ecosystem and human beings
as well. However, each intense event has been linked to anthropogenic and natural causes such
as internal modes of variability in the climate, large-scale circulation, and effects of aerosol like
aerosol marine, volcanic and stratospheric aerosol (European Environmental Agency, 2017
p.364).
Figure shows Extreme Weather Events of prolonged Drought:AMS & NOAA Issue
Annual Report, (Atkins, 2016)

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The end results of the intense weather events can be mitigated by other factors such as
land use and local topography. However, there are a number of mitigations that can be applied in
the investigations regarding the causes of the individual extreme events. Basing on the scientific
perspective, the studies increase the understanding of why and how the intensity and frequency
of extremes have been changing over time. According to Hoffman, (2016), rich biodiversity and
health of the ecosystems are vital to the life of humans and other living organs on the planet.
However, continuous changes in the climatic systems are negatively impacting the habitats of
several living species and these have either to migrate places with more favorable conditions or
adapt to the existing situations. Hoffman, (2016) argues that small changes in the temperatures
pose much effect on the ecosystems.
The increase in the warmth of the temperatures leads to the significant shift in the
geographical location almost to the extent that can no longer support the survival of species in
their current locations. Such species will have to follow the climatic conditions that favor them
by migrating to the moister and cooler environments usually southwards or uphill in the southern
hemisphere. More so, marine species will also be forced to adapt or get used to the ocean warmer
temperatures. However, other media reports indicate that the similar migrations are not possible
due to the environmental parameters that are not favorable, man-made or geographical barriers
and stiff competition from other species found in those places (Gramling,2016). Much evidence
suggests that the distribution of some groups of animals like flying birds and foxes much easily
respond to the warmer temperatures in some parts of the world such as in Australia. This makes
it difficult to differentiate the climatic impacts from other impacts on the habitats (Woodward et
al., 2016). In this case, different media reports regarding the extreme weather or climatic events

Intense Weather Events – Ecosystem and/or Human Impacts6
and their impacts on the ecosystem seem to be related and thus much supported by the public
opinion as the migration of some living species are evidenced occurring every day.
Figure 2 shows Intense weather events inform of floods(Atkins, 2016)
As human activities increase continuously, such as agriculture, industrial development,
and settlement due to increased population growth over a few decades ago. These activities have
increased on the encroachment of the natural vegetation such as grassland, heathlands, and
forests which have been cleared significantly (Dokken et al., 2016). The extinction of various
communities of plants reduces on the habitats which lead to fragmentation thus limiting the
ability of migration of many species to new areas with more favorable conditions. Various
species such as those on the islands, peninsulas and mountain tops face the similar difficulties in
their life. The species with restricted climatic conditions have confined abilities to migrate and
they suffer that increasing climatic changes (Jonathan et.al, 2018). Continuous human activities
that pose a big threat to the climatic and weather conditions are posing significant physiological
threats to a number of species more especially those vulnerable to temperature spikes. On the

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other hand, Tollefson, (2015) argues about the failure of the attempts to link the intense weather
events to the events of global warming since many climatologists look at this as a wrong thing.
According to Handmer et al., (2017), human activities have brought about various
changes in the weather and climatic extremes. These have turned out to be the leading stories for
most of the media houses across the globe. Continuous changed in the extreme climatic events
have become everyone’s concerns since they play a key role in impacting on the ecosystem.
Handmer, (2017) &Hume, (2014), argue that the extreme impacts are due to the extreme weather
events and these impacts are both categorized under ecological and human systems. Both the two
are influenced by the changes in the vulnerability, exposure, and climate.
Accuracy of various Media Reports on the Extreme Weather conditions.
Various media houses or organizations break stories in their headlines about the global
climate/ weather and its focus. Bur, however, continuous changes in the weather or climatic
conditions have significant impacts on the human life and entire ecosystem at large. For instance,
BBC News, (2017) broke a story where several European countries were issuing their warnings
to the people about the expected sours in the weather conditions characterized by the swathes of
the continent. In this case, Italy experienced wildfires due to changes in the climate where
dozens of cities and towns were left on the health extreme. The heatwaves left some regions
experiencing serious drought threats (BBC News, 2017). Continuous changes in the weather and
climatic events leads to the changes in the temperature levels where the temperatures tend to be
too high. According to World Meteorological Organization, (2018), despite the tremendous
efforts to cut dramatically the emissions from the greenhouses, many scientists argue that the
negative consequences will continue due to slow despondence of some parts of the climate

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system such as the large water bodies. more so, it also takes decades to remove completely the
greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere (BBC News, 2017; Environmental Protection Agency,
2017).
Sensationalist of The Text/Headlines on the Intense Weather Events
However, other media reports indicate uncertainty in the future impacts on the extreme
weather events on the ecosystem and human beings. Unlike the BBC News of 2017, the expected
changes could bring significant changes in the food production and supply, cause shortages in
the supply of fresh waters (European Environmental Agency, 2017 p363; Nature.com, 2018).
The changes are also expected to increase on the death rates that rise from storms, floods,
droughts and heat waves. This is due to the expectation of an increase in the frequency of the
climatic changes to the extreme weather events. According to BBC News, (2017)&The National
Academies Press, (2016), continuous in the extreme weather events are also expected to cause an
increase in the animal and plant extinctions as the habitats are expected to change at a higher rate
than the one the species can adapt it. According to the special report from the BBC News on
climate change, continuous changes in the climatic conditions increases the world’s exposure to
the increases in the cases of malnutrition, waterborne diseases and malaria as warned by the
World Health Organization. However, according to the Independent, (2017), the increase in the
cases of global warming is expected to cause more pressing impacts such as an increase in the
heating due to an increase in gases from the greenhouses (Howard, 2014). Extreme weather
events are associated with significant negative effects such as economic lessee due to bad
weather situations. For instance, the increased exposure of the economic assets and people has
been ranked as the major economic losses brought about by extreme weather and climatically

Intense Weather Events – Ecosystem and/or Human Impacts9
conditions. Various reports such as BBC News indicate that these losses are more likely to affect
even the future generations.
Impact Might Media Science Reports Have on Readers on The Issue of Intense Weather
Events
Increased science in media reports concerning the concept of global weather changes has several
effects on the readers of the journal articles published. The different forms of media reporting may result
into inaccurate reporting which causes misconceptions of the facts in science by the readers. Regardless
of the specific causes of the extreme weather events, different media reporting on the similar issue may
hinder the public’s participation in the policy discussions that regard scientific issues. In most cases, the
journalistic reports that are distorted may generate both unwanted fears and false reports. For instance,
over exaggeration of the possible negative changes in the weather events may cause fear and panic among
the readers and the entire public at large.
Conclusion
According to Alexander, (2017), climate and weather extremes provides decision makers,
academicians, nongovernmental organizations, civil society and the international development
agencies with the various chances to issue publications on the various research aspects in climate
and weather extremes. Several media house have also come out and issued various news
journals, articles, and magazines on the ever-changing global weather conditions. This has
included the monitoring, assessment of the vulnerability and issuing early warnings about the
expected hazardous weather changes (Gabbatiss,2017). The Intense weather events and its
related impacts on the ecosystem and on human beings have been increasing due to continued
deterioration in the global weather and climatic conditions as indicated in various media reports
and research finding on the weather situations. Therefore, this call for the need to increase on the

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measures to protect the nature such that negative impact imposed on the ecosystem and human
beings by the intense weather events are minimized.

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